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Some time ago, we wrote blogs about James Dean, questioning his contemporary reputation as a Fifties enfant terrible who shocked the Hollywood establishment with his vast talent. We then received a mixed response from readers, some passionately disagreeing and others expressing qualified agreement. As repeatedly mentioned in these columns, we love email from readers. And we […]
A few years ago one of our readers, Phillipe, was very upset with us when we suggested that Susan Hayward was a “forgotten” star. In addition to reminding us of her Oscar winning performance in 1958’s I Want to Live, and telling us that Hayward was always a much bigger star in Europe than the U. […]
He’s one of the most enduring characters of detective fiction. Movies audiences of the 1930s ate him up. But like most detective heroes of that era he wasn’t portrayed by just one actor. Tomorrow, on that cable network we all love, they’ll be airing a series of various mystery movies from that vintage period. If […]
Normally our weekly Monday Quiz is devoted to a specific performer, an actor or actress we like that you might be curious about. Yesterday, we pioneered new territory by offering up a group of performers, collectively known as The Rat Pack. You probably know who was in the group — at least in their Las […]
It began as an informal association of Hollywood pals in the 1950’s linked largely by their shared disdain of the prevailing social mores reinforced by a moribund studio system. Its sole original purpose was “to spit in the eye of Hollywood custom and get away with it.” It quickly transformed into a power center of […]
For our Monday Quiz this week, we chose Loretta Young as our subject. Today, here’s a bit more about this fine actress. Years ago when Joe interviewed Young’s second husband (and the father of her two sons) Tom Lewis, Lewis (pictured above) revealed that Loretta had promised to give up her film career when she […]
Joe is an Italian-American so naturally one of his favorite films, which he regards as a modern classic, is 1987’s Moonstruck. The movie about the intricacies of Italian-American family life won three Oscars — a best actress nod for Cher (pictured above with costar Nicolas Cage), a best supporting actress citation to Olympia Dukakis and a […]
Who? William Lundigan, that’s who. Bill Lundigan is one of those stalwart leading men of the 1940s and 50s who’s forgotten today but shouldn’t be. He began his career in the late 30s. Universal signed him, groomed him for a few years, then gave him a break casting him opposite Deanna Durbin in Three Smart Girls Grow […]
As we asked in yesterday’s blog, was Loretta Young a semi-saintly glamour puss of taste and brains or an off-screen harridan who stopped at little to achieve her ambitions? Perhaps both? Before you fire off your emails about these pressing questions, check out the answers to our Loretta Young Quiz queries, all 10 of ’em, published yesterday. […]
Who was Loretta Young exactly? Was she the saintly classic beauty, the doting wife and loving mother of fan magazine fame? Was she what she became, a ravishing specimen of middle age perfection who swirled down that tv staircase with unparalleled swish and style? Or, was she “Atilla the Nun,” a driven, iron-willed self disciplinarian? A […]